Why It Matters

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure approved a package of General Services Administration capital investment and leasing program resolutions on Sept. 15, authorizing lease and repair-and-alteration projects at federal facilities across more than a dozen states.

The resolutions were considered under 40 U.S.C. § 3307, which requires GSA to submit certain construction, alteration and lease projects exceeding a statutory cost threshold to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for approval before appropriations may be made for those projects.

The package included projects supporting veterans' health care as well as repairs, alterations and security improvements at federal buildings.

Vote Results

The committee approved the GSA Capital Investment and Leasing Program resolutions by voice vote. Because no individual roll-call tally was recorded, the committee record does not establish how each member voted on the resolutions.

The package covered two principal categories of projects: lease prospectuses and repair-and-alteration prospectuses.

Lease prospectuses approved include:

  • Department of the Army, Project Management Office for the Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Sumner, Washington: up to 442,000 rentable square feet at a proposed total annual cost of $8,879,780 for a term of up to 20 years.
  • Department of Veterans Affairs, Austin, Texas: up to 194,912 net usable square feet at a proposed unserviced annual cost of $12,227,000 for up to 20 years.
  • VA, Fort Worth, Texas: up to 177,230 net usable square feet at $11,375,000 annually for up to 20 years.
  • VA, Harlingen, Texas: up to 125,804 net usable square feet at $6,011,000 annually for up to 20 years.
  • VA, Fishers, Indiana: up to 187,564 net usable square feet at $10,247,000 annually for up to 20 years.
  • VA, McAllen, Texas: up to 59,507 net usable square feet at $4,110,000 annually for up to 20 years.
  • VA, Broward County, Florida: up to 89,933 net usable square feet at $7,985,000 annually for up to 20 years.
  • VA, Pleasanton, California: up to 57,521 net usable square feet at $4,155,000 annually for up to 20 years.
  • VA, Mission Bay, California: up to 42,000 net usable square feet at $6,864,000 annually for up to 20 years.
  • Environmental Protection Agency, Atlanta, Georgia: up to 179,000 rentable square feet at a proposed total annual cost of $8,581,766 for up to 20 years.

Repair-and-alteration prospectuses approved include:

  • Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior Building, Washington, D.C.: fall-protection systems with a total estimated project cost of $8,874,000.
  • Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Oakland, California: elevator, HVAC, roof and façade upgrades with a total estimated project cost of $66,498,000.
  • Denver Federal Center Building 56, Lakewood, Colorado, amended: systems modernization and structural work with an additional cost of $3,624,000 and a total estimated project cost of $51,287,000.
  • Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, West Palm Beach, Florida: building systems and envelope upgrades with a total estimated project cost of $74,994,000.
  • Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, Chicago, Illinois: fire life-safety and lighting upgrades with a total estimated project cost of $27,338,000.
  • Frank Carlson Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Topeka, Kansas: exterior, HVAC, electrical and other systems upgrades with a total estimated project cost of $79,703,000.
  • John F. Kennedy Federal Building, Boston, Massachusetts, amended: roof, conveyance, HVAC and other systems replacement with an additional cost of $61,899,000 and a total estimated project cost of $215,964,000.
  • Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building, Detroit, Michigan: elevator, electrical and security upgrades with a total estimated project cost of $58,399,000.
  • Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, New York, New York, amended: structural repairs with an additional cost of $25,051,000 and a total estimated phase two project cost of $88,455,000.
  • Emanuel Celler U.S. Courthouse, Brooklyn, New York: condenser-water pipe replacement and hazardous-materials abatement with a total estimated project cost of $7,413,000.
  • Multiple federal buildings in Central Islip, Syracuse and Albany, New York: fire-alarm replacements with a total estimated project cost of $56,490,000.
  • John F. Seiberling Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Akron, Ohio, amended: waterproofing, drainage and skylight repairs with a total estimated project cost of $45,990,000.
  • James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse and William J. Green Jr. Federal Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: plaza replacement with a total estimated project cost of $27,890,000.
  • Judiciary Capital Security Program, various locations: physical-security improvements in GSA-controlled buildings occupied by the federal judiciary and the Justice Department's U.S. Marshals Service, with a total cost of $25 million.

Notable Trends and Surprises

The package directs substantial federal real-estate investment toward veterans' health care, with eight of the 10 listed lease prospectuses involving Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. The committee described the overall package as authorizing leases and building improvements intended to maximize federal space while addressing safety and security needs.

Several resolutions amend previously approved prospectuses to account for additional project costs, including work at the Denver Federal Center, John F. Kennedy Federal Building and Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House.

The resolutions also reflect Congress' oversight role in major federal real-estate projects. Under 40 U.S.C. § 3307, prospectus-level GSA projects require approval by both the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee before they are eligible for appropriations.

The committee approved the resolutions as part of a broader Sept. 15 markup that also included legislation addressing aviation safety, rural airports, maritime cybersecurity, disaster assistance and federal real-estate oversight.

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